Douluo Dalu: Stealing Through The Heavens

As dusk approached, Zuzong grew bored. Seeing that Xiao Wu had fallen asleep, he said goodbye to Ye Lingling and left the Rose Hotel.

Zuzong didn't care much about where he stayed since he always used cultivation to replace sleep. As for Xiao Wu and Ye Lingling, he wasn't particularly interested in what they were up to—girls always had their secrets, even if one of them happened to be a 100,000-year-old rabbit spirit.

Strolling through the streets of Suotuo City, Zuzong decided to buy some masks in preparation for tomorrow's spirit battle. Previously, in Nuoding City, Zuzong had used transformation techniques during his battles, but here, with the presence of the Heaven Dou Imperial Team, he couldn't afford to play around like that.

There were plenty of street vendors in Suotuo City, and before long, Zuzong found a stall selling masks.

A white fox mask with red patterns caught Zuzong's attention.

"This mask looks just like the one Uchiha Itachi wore during his time in the Anbu," Zuzong murmured quietly.

With his decision made, Zuzong chose that mask.

Suddenly, a crisp female voice reached his ears.

"Boss, how much for this mask?"

Zuzong turned his head and saw a girl with long brown hair.

The girl appeared to be about the same age as Zuzong, wearing a simple tea-green dress that gave off a very clean vibe. She was about 165 cm tall, much shorter than Zuzong. Since she was standing to Zuzong's right, he could see her side profile. 

Her face was even more delicate than Xiao Wu's. From her side profile to her neck, it was clear her skin was flawless—extremely fair and tender.

Zuzong couldn't help but think, "You really don't realize how many beautiful girls are out there until you go out. Not to mention Ye Lingling, now even random girls I meet seem to outshine that little rabbit. Well, it's probably because Xiao Wu hasn't grown up yet. She'll likely be a real beauty when she's older. I wonder what Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong, the mother-daughter pair from the original story, look like?"

Commentary from the Peanut Gallery: Jerk.

Zuzong: "Hey! I'm just admiring her beauty, not being a jerk."

The girl noticed Zuzong's gaze and, already in a bad mood, felt even more annoyed. Just as she was about to snap, she stopped herself when she saw him.

In front of her stood a boy, about twelve or thirteen years old, tall and slender, with long blue-silver hair. His fair skin and delicate features were striking enough to make him appear almost feminine. If it weren't for the fact that he wore a black male outfit and had a strong masculine presence, she might have mistaken him for a girl.

Looking into his clear eyes, she thought, "Well, at least he's not a pervert."

The girl smiled and said, "Hello!"

Zuzong simply nodded in response and continued selecting masks. Ye Lingling didn't need one due to her veil, but Xiao Wu definitely did. Despite that, Zuzong still planned to choose masks for both of them.

As for the girl beside him, he had no other thoughts—he just found her pretty, that's all.

Zuzong's indifferent response made the girl chuckle to herself. "What's going on? He looked at me first, and I was nice enough to greet him. But all I get in return is a nod?"

After spending some time picking out two decent masks, Zuzong was about to leave the stall.

"Are you here to join Shrek Academy?" the brown-haired girl suddenly asked.

Zuzong halted, looking confused. "Are you a student at Shrek?"

He sized her up again. If she really was a student of Shrek, her identity wouldn't be hard to guess. In the original story, Shrek only had three female students.

First, it couldn't be Xiao Wu, since the rabbit was following him and was likely still napping. Then, he glanced at the girl's chest out of the corner of his eye—too small to be Zhu Zhuqing. That left only Ning Rongrong. No way Tang San had picked up another "little sister" somewhere, right?

Zuzong shook his head, "I'm not here to join Shrek Academy. Even if I were, registration ended yesterday. And besides, it should be class time right now."

The girl, caught off guard by his response, sheepishly answered, "I… I only just enrolled yesterday. Classes start in the evening. During the day, we're told to rest and conserve our energy. My name is Ning Rongrong. What's yours?"

Zuzong narrowed his eyes. "So, it really is Ning Rongrong. Looks like Flender must've sent her on that run, and she gave up after one lap to come eat in Suotuo City."

Wait a minute.

Zuzong started to sweat. Over the past few years, he had stolen nearly all of Flender's savings. Although the hate level was still under 70%, if Flender caught him, he'd surely get beaten up. Even if he could teleport randomly thanks to the system, who knew where he might end up? Last time he ended up in Xiao Xun'er's bed, which was a painful lesson.

Zuzong began to think of ways to handle the situation.

"Hello, my name is Zuzong."

— —

Meanwhile, high in the sky, Flender was secretly observing Ning Rongrong from within the clouds. At this moment, Ning Rongrong was chatting with an unfamiliar young man.

"This spoiled princess dares to skip class! Let's see how I deal with her later!"

As for the young man, Flender didn't pay much attention at first. He assumed it was just a casual conversation. But when he got a clear look at the boy's face, a sudden surge of anger filled his heart.

This anger was familiar—he had felt it a few times over the past few years, whenever his Gold Soul Coins were stolen.

"No, I have to go find that boy and get to the bottom of this. If he's the one who stole my coins, I'll make him pay!"

Once Zuzong and Ning Rongrong parted ways, Flender couldn't suppress his curiosity and anger any longer. He decided to confront Zuzong.

However, just as Flender landed, a black figure suddenly appeared before him.

The figure was masked and had a strong, imposing build.

Flender clasped his hands together respectfully. "May I ask why the senior is blocking my path?"

After all, for someone to appear before him without him noticing, they couldn't be an ordinary person. Flender had to take this seriously.

The black figure waved his hand, speaking in a deep voice, "Who I am doesn't matter. But that person is not someone you can touch!"

"That person?" Flender was startled. Clearly, the figure was referring to the blue-haired boy.

The figure didn't offer any further explanation.

In the next moment, a bright light shone from the figure's body. As a faint glow enveloped him, his body began to change. Violent soul power surged around him, and eight soul rings slowly rose from beneath his feet—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black—encircling his form.

Flender exclaimed in shock, "A Contra!"

His jaw nearly dropped. He never expected that the suspected thief would have a bodyguard at the Contra level.

With a bitter smile, Flender thought, "With a Contra-level bodyguard, why would he care about a few hundred Gold Soul Coins?"

Flender cupped his hands again. "I am the headmaster of Shrek Academy, Four-Eyed Owl Flender. I thought that young man had extraordinary talent and wanted to invite him to join Shrek Academy. I meant no harm. Since that's the case, I'll take my leave."

Seeing no objection from the figure, Flender immediately activated his martial spirit and flew off.

Not until he was back at Shrek Academy did he let out a sigh of relief. Muttering to himself, he said, "With a Contra guarding him, it seems that boy wasn't the one who stole my money. I almost made a huge enemy! But who exactly is that boy?"

Commentary from the Peanut Gallery: "That boy (Zuzong) really is the one who stole your money."

On the other side, after parting ways with Ning Rongrong, Zuzong still couldn't think of a good plan. He decided to act normally. After all, Flender might not even find him, and even if he did, he had no proof that Zuzong stole his money, especially since Zuzong had never been to Suotuo City before.

Zuzong even prepared a script in advance. But in the end… Flender didn't show up at all.

Well, that was a waste of effort.

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